Sambhal report: Yogi says files reveal how conspiracy unfolded; minister flags 'demographic shift'

NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said that the Sambhal report, which the judicial commission submitted, revealed how a conspiracy for riot unfolded in 2024.

The three-member panel met the CM on Thursday and submitted its report concerning the violence that erupted near the Shahi Jama Masjid on November 24 during an ASI-monitored survey of the mosque. The unrest resulted in four fatalities and injuries to several others. In the document, a sharp demographic shift is observed. Highlighting major demographic shifts in Sambhal, the report notes that the Hindu population declined from 45 percent at the time of Independence to 15 percent currently, while Muslims now constitute 85 percent of the population. Speaking at the inauguration and foundation-laying ceremony for various development projects in Sambhal, he asserted that the state is transitioning from "appeasement" to "satisfaction," leaving no room for any demographic shift. Adityanath linked the violence to a history of “targeted actions” against Hindus under previous state governments. “The judicial commission submitted its report on the Sambhal incident on Thursday, revealing parts of how a conspiracy for riot unfolded in 2024," Adityanath said.

“During the tenure of the Samajwadi Party and Congress, Hindus were selectively targeted, their demography was reduced, they were continuously subjected to oppression, and areas were made Hindu-free through riots. But there is a double-engine govt in place today, which will not allow the demography to change. Whoever dares to change the demography will be forced to flee because every citizen is now getting the benefits of government schemes without any discrimination,” he added. According to the PTI's sources, the judicial panel report asserts that Hindus have been "consistently made the primary target in every riot since 1947" and were again the focus of a plot during the Sambhal flare-up. The report credits Uttar Pradesh Police with preventing a "massacre" and notes that the rioters were brought in from outside the region. The report also links internal clashes to enduring Turk-Pathan tensions and states that the controversy over the Harihar temple, allegedly replaced by the mosque, was exacerbated by references to Babur's legacy, intensifying the atmosphere, the sources told PTI. Report alleges that radical organisations and illegal arms and drug networks were activated to destabilise the region, while praising the swift action taken by the state. According to the PTI, the panel traces Sambhal's history of communal strife to a 1953 Shia-Sunni clash, with major riots occurring in 1956, 1959, 1962—when Jan Sangh MLA Mahesh Gupta was stabbed—1966, and 1976, when a mosque committee dispute and the murder of a maulvi triggered temple attacks and curfews.Meanwhile, minister of state for secondary education Gulab Devi flagged the issue and asked where did the 30 per cent of Hindu population go. Commenting on the report, Devi, said, “The investigation shows that the Hindu population in Sambhal dropped from 45 per cent at the time of Independence to 15 per cent now.“Where did this 30 per cent go? Did they migrate? Did they convert? Or were they killed? The high court or our government will take action based on the facts mentioned in the report.”